UN Study: Germany among the top 10 most innovative countries for the first time

Germany has made tremendous strides forward and now ranks among the top 10 most innovative countries in the world. This was not always the case, however. Progress has been driven in part by outstanding universities and sustainable inventions.

Switzerland topped the list yet again for the sixth year in a row in the study published by the United Nations in New York City and is followed by Sweden, the UK, the US, Finland, Singapore, Ireland, Denmark, and the Netherlands.

At number 10, Germany ranks among the top 10 for the first time ever, ascending two spots from number 12 in the previous year. The authors of the study praised Germany in particular for the quality of the innovations it has brought forward. Germany scored especially well with regard to the number of registered patents, the quality of its institutions of higher learning, and its company generated innovations. Hence, German corporations continue to invest large sums of money in research and development.

The Global Innovation Index, which is published annually and was prepared this year for the ninth time by Cornell University, the INSEAD business school, and the UN’s World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), examines the economic and innovative achievements of 128 countries.